Following the directive from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade for airports to have a dedicated molecular laboratory, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) together with the GMR MEGAWIDE Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), commence the operations of the world’s first airport-dedicated COVID-19 PCR Testing Laboratory.
The 400-sqm. laboratory is designed to process 1,500 to 3,000 tests per day with test results available after 24 hours, the shortest time in the country to release swab test results. It holds a BSL-2 certification from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
According to MCIAA General Manager and CEO Atty. Steve Dicdican, “When it became clear that testing capability was going to be a prerequisite for the resumption of international travel, we immediately embarked on the ambitious project of putting up the fastest built and accredited molecular laboratory with the capability to do mass testing and generate results in the quickest possible time. It should be noted that the airport will not profit a single cent from the laboratory because we envisioned this to be our contribution to the government’s effort to bring home our stranded kababayans at minimal cost to them and the government and to jumpstarting our economy.”